A Mother Only A Fool Would Cross One
by anxious.soul
Summary: The Rogues have been pardoned and have returned to the Compound. Only things have changed and nothing will be the same. Especially when a ghost appears alive and well.


**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers**

 **Warnings: Swearing, Post-CACW, Not Canon-Compliant, Not Thor-Ragnorak Mid-Credits Scene Complaint, Not A Fix-It, Not Clint Friendly, Not Steve Friendly, Not Wanda Friendly, Ambiguous/Open Ending.**

 **Cross-posted on my AO3 with a collage.**

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It had been a year since the infamous 'Civil War' between the Avengers and the Rogues had finally been pardoned, that's not to say they were let off easy. Within that year Bruce and Thor had returned with news of an approaching threat named Thanos. There were also new members to the reformed Avengers such as Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel, also the official leader of the Avengers), Hope van Dyne (the Wasp, sort of the second in command), Dr Stephen Strange and unofficially, Spider-Man. Now the Rogues were returning to the compound…

 **—LINE BREAK—**

"Hello, Pepper!" Steve said as the Rogues exited the Quinjet and saw Pepper and Rhodey standing alongside two unfamiliar women, the tall blond heard a gasp from Scott and gathered that he knew one of them.

"To you, it's Miss Potts." She stated with an uncaring expression, "Of course, you know Mr Rhodes." She said turning to the man beside her, who was leaning against her a little bit as his legs were still a bit weak despite the braces. Pepper had repeatedly told Rhodey he didn't need to come out and see them, when he insisted, she tried to get him to sit in his wheelchair, but he once again refused. Saying something about being strong despite clearly struggling. Knowing it was impossible to argue with the man, she left it at that but insisted he put a bit of weight onto her so he didn't topple over. At the mention of the black man, heads turned and eyes glanced at his legs before drifting back to his face to meet an unamused and almost furious gaze. "This is Miss Hope van Dyne, I believe you are familiar with her Mr Lang and finally this is Captain Carol Danvers. I believe an Accords consultant has already been through the paperwork and all that _fun_ stuff with you, so whilst we don't need to discuss all of that, there are still some _rules_ and things we need to go through inside." She said before the four walked inside not even waiting for the Rogues to say anything or to check if they were following.

They all took a seat once inside the large communal room.

"Where's Stark?" Clint grunted as he took in the room, spying a fancy looking black grand piano,

"And why are we here? What happened to the Avengers Tower?" Wanda asked,

"This is not your time for talking." Pepper snapped before taking a deep breath, "Where Mr Stark is, is none of your business. The tower was sold after your little _spat_. Now onto more pressing matters."

"I'm sorry I'm late, there was a problem with the babysitter, I've got Peter looking after the kids though."

"Oh, that's good, if it was a problem we could've postponed this." Pepper murmured with a smile as she got up to hug the woman who had just walked in.

"Laura?" Clint whispered reaching out for his wife, she turned to him and he flinched back into his seat at the look she gave him.

"These are for you." She handed him a pile of documents and when he realised what they were he gasped in horror,

"What's wrong Clint?" Natasha asked, looking at her fellow agent,

"No. Laura. I refuse to sign these. We can work things out. Why go to such drastic decisions? The kids won't be happy."

"Actually, they don't care. As far as they're concerned? Their _father_ is nothing more than a liar. They don't care for you anymore Clint. They've had a year without contact from their so-called dad, _a year_ since you _left_ without a _single_ word. Honestly, they are so much happier now. So am I. We don't need you. We've got a new family now." She said, her voice quiet and genuine. The other two women smiled gently at her as Pepper hugged her once again. Clint's eyes softened and he seemed close to giving in and signing the documents before rage filled him once again. He stood up, towering over Laura as he pointed angrily.

"This is all Stark's fault! He's manipulated you and the kids against me!" He shouted,

"Excuse me? Are you insinuating that I am weak? That I can be bribed into this? That I can't stand up for myself? Because let me remind you of the many _many_ times I've stood up against you." Before the enraged woman could continue, another voice echoed across the room.

"Enough!" Heads turned to find a middle-aged blonde woman dressed to the nines staring down at them from the inside balcony that looked down at the room. Bucky gasped in horror before realising the others saw her too,

"You see her too?" He whispered after he stumbled back a bit believing she was a ghost, the woman merely smiled at him gently, forgiveness evident in her eyes.

"Carol…why is…how is…?"

"She here? I'm not too sure, Mrs Stark appeared an hour before the Rogues arrived." Captain Marvel stated before smiling to the older woman as she walked over to her. Carol held her arm out before leading her to the rest of the group, "She isn't a threat. So no need to worry. I do not know how she came to be… _alive_ though." Everyone hesitantly sat down, Maria taking the armchair that separated the two 'teams'.

"For those who may not recognise me, my name is Maria Stark. Wife to Howard Stark and mother to Tony Stark." She said calmly.

 **—LINE BREAK—**

"What has Stark been tampering with this time?" Steve was the first one to break the silence, "Insane robots weren't enough, now he's a necromancer?"

"My son has no knowledge of my…revival." Maria turned away from the Rogues and faced Hope, she drew the younger woman in for a hug, "Oh Hope, look how you've grown!" Yes, Maria did, in fact, know the young hero. She had been friends with Janet van Dyne, Hope's mother and the woman had chosen Maria to be Hope's godmother. She moved away and turned to Rhodey, who struggled to his feet but returned the hug she gave him, "Hello, James. I'm so grateful that you've stuck by his side all these years." Rhodey knew her from the many times Tony had forced him to the manor.

Once reunions, introductions and some casual conversations were out of the way, the Rogues snapped out of their shock and started to shout, reminding the others of their presence.

"Right. Now I'm going to tell you all story."

"We're not children." Wanda spat, and Maria raised an eyebrow,

"Not only does your behaviour" She looked at the Rogues, "suggests otherwise." She turned back to the witch, "Your precious Captain believes otherwise and you have made no attempt at correcting him in the past." Both Wanda and Steve went to speak but she held up her hand, "Now is my time to speak and like the good little soldier, I expect you to keep your mouth shut. That goes to all of you." She sent a pointed look at each of the Rogues. "This December will mark the 26th anniversary of my death by the hands of HYDRA. My husband and I were murdered by the Winter Soldier." Gasps echoed throughout the room as the Rogues stared at Bucky who looked down in shame. He looked up when a hand reached out and cupped his cheek as Maria's chair was next to where he sat on the sofa, "I do not blame you Mr Barnes-"

"It wasn't his fault anyway!" Steve shouted but he went ignored,

"I do not blame you, Mr Barnes. Your body and arm may have done the damage but you had no control." She stated before returning to her story, nodding at the smile of gratitude Bucky sent her, "The minute I died, I…woke up and saw my son. Yet he couldn't see me. I watched as he found out about our deaths. No one had called him and he found out on the news. He was a wreck. Screaming, shouting and getting drunk. He blamed Howard for causing our deaths." She turned to Steve, "You had no right to keep that from him, Rogers. He deserved to know that his father didn't kill us." She turned to Rhodey, "Thank you for being there for him that night. You have no idea how terrifying it is to watch and be unable to do anything as your son drank himself half to death." She turned away, "I've watched most of his life -thankfully whatever force had been making me watch over him, didn't make me watch _certain_ aspects of my son's life that I most definitely would not want to see." A lot chuckled whereas several of the Rogues grimaced in disgust. She continued to go on about his hardships that she was forced to watch; his capture in Afghanistan, the inputting of the battery and then the arc in his chest, the waterboarding and his torture, then his magnificent escape. "I had to watch as the man Howard and I chose as Tony's godfather ripped out the one thing keeping my Bambino alive."

"Wait." Snorted Clint, "You call him 'Bambino'? Bet he hates that." Before Maria could retort, Scott surprisingly spoke up,

"Mrs Stark is a mother, of course, she's going to have nicknames for her son. It makes me wonder how you stayed married for as long as you did if you never gave your children nicknames."

"I must say I agree with you, Mr Lang."

"Truthfully, the nickname is very fitting for Tony." Rhodey murmured and Pepper nodded,

"Yes, he's very Bambi-like." She added with a smile. Maria smiled at them all.

"Then you all came along. The infamous Avengers. You were the worst thing to happen to my Bambino. "

"I agree, Mrs Stark. I was wary of them when Tones first introduced us, but he seemed so happy so I left it alone. I was so wrong." Rhodey interrupted running a hand over his face, the blonde woman placed a hand on his knee comfortingly,

"You all took him for granted. You happily took his money, yet sneered at his wealth and success. You gleefully took the equipment he went out of his way to make for you but snarled at his genius. Took his intelligence for arrogance. His generosity for mockery. You took advantage of a selfless man without a single care. Never once did you thank him or even say 'please' merely made demands." She stood up after a minute of silence, straightening her grey skirt. "Before I let Miss Danvers talk about the Accords and Avengers business, I have just one or two _small_ things to add." She looked at Wanda, Natasha, Clint and left her eyes on Steve as she spoke, "There are three areas in this building. The left wing. The right wing and this area bang smack in the middle. You four are not allowed in the left wing. This room is the communal area and it's as far as you can go."

"You can't do that!" Clint bellowed,

"Yes, I can. Believe me, Mr Barton, you will leave my Bambino be. Anyone that brings distress to him will suffer the consequences."

"Is that a threat?" Natasha snarled,

"Not to sound cliche, but it is a promise."

"You can't do that. It's against the rules." Steve added with a smirk, which Maria reciprocated maliciously,

"Oh, now the rules apply. Mr Rogers, do keep in mind that you no longer lead the Avengers, Captain Danvers does and should you -pardon my French- piss her off, she would be more than happy to have you benched or doing more vigorous training until you pass out, only to be woken and told to do more." Her smirk faded and changed into a seemingly gentle smile that had poison lurking beneath, "Besides, she isn't who you need to worry about. Whilst fighting amongst teammates is indeed frowned upon, I am no Avenger." There was a sharp glint in her eyes, "I _am_ a mother, however, and believe you me, mothers are very protective when it comes to their children." Her smile softened as she turned to the other Rogues, "Mr Barnes, Mr Lang, Mr Wilson. You three have _one_ chance to speak with my son. If you are anything other than kind and respectful, then you've blown your chance. I have a feeling Anthony wishes to speak with you which is why the rule I previously stated doesn't apply to you _at the moment_." They nodded in understanding and gratitude. Maria smiled kindly at the New Avengers,

"Sorry for taking up so much of your time, I'll let you get onto the more important details." She stood and wandered over to the piano. Looking at it longingly as it had been so long since she'd been able to play. Her fingers ran quietly over the keys, it was nothing loud as she pressed them down allowing the others to be able to concentrate and hear one another as they all spoke.

 **—LINE BREAK—**

"So any particular reason we went out tonight?" Tony asked as he and Stephen walked towards the front door of the compound. The taller man brought their entwined hands up and kissed the back of Tony's, watching with glee and amusement as the small genius blushed.

"It is our anniversary"

"Nope, that's next month."

"I never said our dating anniversary. It's been a whole year since we first met. I bet you can remember the exact hour and minute we met."

"We've been dating for three-hundred and twenty-four days, we've known each other for three-hundred and sixty-six days including today which is approximately eight-thousand, seven-hundred and eighty-four hours…sorry, I forget that it creeps people out when I speak in numbers." Stephen brought his free hand up to hold Tony's cheek comfortingly as they stared into each other's eyes,

"Never apologise because people don't realise how incredible you are. Your mind is unique as is your brain. That said, should I be concerned with you and your numbers eloping?" Tony chuckled and they shared a tender kiss.

"That being said, I know you're just avoiding the subject. Whilst we have known each other for a whole year, we never had any qualms about celebrating and then you've gone and cancelled on your talk thingamajig to take me to dinner…" The doctor turned sorcerer never cancelled on his talks, whilst he may not be able to perform in the medical industry due to his hands, he still attended talks and shows to try and help other doctors to become better and more successful. "What's going on, Stephen?" Tony asked as they entered the compound and at the sight of numerous bags and an all too familiar red coat that reeked of the wicked witch of the rogues, he found his answer, "Oh. Today was the day they returned." He whispered with complete and utter vulnerability in his voice that made Stephen's heart ache.

Slowly they walked towards the seemingly quiet communal living room and as they walked down the hall they heard a piano being played.

"That's odd. None of them can play the piano, let alone be that good." They got closer and stood in the doorway (that had no door) and looked over at the room, Tony couldn't see the face of the pianist as he looked at the Avengers New, Old and Rogue all staring each other down.

 _"Try to remember the kind of September. When grass was green and grain so yellow,"_ Tony felt his knees shake as his legs turned to jelly. He knew that song. He knew that voice. He hadn't heard it in twenty-six years.

The blonde woman stopped as she caught sight of the frozen man out of the corner of her eye. She stood and stared back with a gentle smile. Tony took two steps forward and two steps back. She opened her arms and that was all it took before Tony was running over to her with tears streaming down his face as he buried himself in her embrace.

"Mum!" He exclaimed.

"Hello, my Bambino." She whispered in his ear as the two slowly fell to the floor. Maria holding Tony tightly as she spoke softly to her crying son. Tony in return held her just as tightly, as though she'd disappear if he didn't.

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 **'Bambino' means 'Child' in Italian**

 **The ending is purposely left like that because I wasn't sure how to end it and thought that would be a nice place as it left you guys to think about what could happen -like you make your own final conclusions if you wanted to.**

 **Here's my tumblr if you're interested, it also has the story collages: anxious-soul**

 **Anyway,**  
 **Thank you for reading,**  
 **Hope you enjoyed this,**  
 **Please review,**  
 **No hate -don't like, don't read**

 **Bye~**


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